The Mindanao–Eastern Visayas rain forests

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

(WWF ID: IM0129) covers the lowland rain forests of the island of

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

and of the easternmost of the

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Bisayan languages, Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three Island groups of the Philippines, principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao ...

Islands in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Although 63% of this ecoregion is covered with closed broadleaf evergreen forest or open forest, much of this has been disturbed in the past by human activity, and many of the rare species of the area have been relegated to the isolated areas or higher elevations.

Location and description

Mindanao is the southernmost large island of the Philippines. The

Islands occupy the center of the Philippines; this ecoregion includes the eastern Visayas - the largest islands of the ecoregion being

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

, and

Bohol Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bohol; tl, Lalawigan ng Bohol), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region, consisting of the island itself and 75 m ...

. There are also a number of smaller islands, including

Camiguin Camiguin, officially the Province of Camiguin ( ceb, Probinsya sa Camiguin; tl, Lalawigan ng Camiguin; Kamigin: ''Probinsya ta Kamigin''), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Bohol Sea, about off the northern coast of Min ...

, Basilan, and Dinagat. The lowland forests are below 1,000 meters in elevation, with a few small peak up to 1,400 meters, and the median for the ecoregion being .

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is ''

Tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...

'' (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

(Af)). This climate is characterized as hot, humid, and having at least 60 mm of precipitation every month. An important factor in this ecoregion is whether the location is in the main typhoon track from July to November. The northern portions of Leyte and Samar are in this track, while the island of Mindanao and its satellite islands are not. For the locations in the typhoon track, up to a third of annual precipitation may occur during typhoons.

Flora and fauna

Although this ecoregion is spread among many islands, the floristic communities are related, as Mindanao and the eastern Visayas were all one connected island in the lower sea levels of the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

(the ice age from 2.8 million years ago to 11,700 years ago). Currently, 43% of the ecoregion is closed broadleaf evergreen forest, 20% is open forest, 9% is under cultivation for agriculture, and 5% is non-forest herbaceous cover. Beach vegetation merges into beach forest away from the coast, featuring trees of genus ''

Casuarina ''Casuarina'' is a genus of 17 tree species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australia, the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, islands of the western Pacific Ocean, and eastern Africa. It was once treated as the sole genus in the fami ...

'' (a tall evergreen with feather-like leaves) and '' Barringtonia''. The lowland rain forests are dominated by trees of genus ('' Dipterocarpus'') up through 400 meters. As elevations increase the dipterocarps are joined by '' Pterocarpus indicus'', Pandans ''

Pandanus ''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with some 750 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. The greatest number of species are found in Madagascar and Malaysia. Common names ...

'', and others. Upper hill dipterocarp forests are found from 650 meters to 1,000 meters, where the dominant trees are ''

Shorea polysperma ''Shorea polysperma'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Dipterocarpaceae. It is endemic to the Philippines. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process b ...

'', oaks, chestnuts, and elaeocarps. Above 1,000 meters, the ecoregions transitions into montane rain forest. The small outlying islands preserve distinctive sub-ecoregions.

Island, with an area of 238 km2, that has two endemic mammal species and an endemic frog. Dinagat Island has three endemic mammal species, including the elusive Dinagat bushy-tailed cloud rat (''

Crateromys australis The Dinagat bushy-tailed cloud rat, Dinagat crateromys or Dinagat cloud rat (''Crateromys australis'') is a species of cloud rat in the family Muridae. It is one of the eight cloud rats found only in the Philippines, and is specifically endemic t ...

''). Mindanao supports the vulnerable Philippine deer ('' Cervus mariannus nigricans'').

Protected areas

About 8% of the ecoregion is officially protected. These protected areas include: *

Mount Apo Natural Park Mount Apo, also known locally as Apo Sandawa, is a large solfataric, dormant stratovolcano on the island of Mindanao, Philippines. With an elevation of above sea level, it is the highest-mountain in the Philippine Archipelago, Mindanao and 24 ...

* Mount Malindang Natural Park * Kitanglad Mountain Range Natural Park

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mindanao-Eastern Visayas rain forests Indomalayan ecoregions Ecoregions of the Philippines Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests